Filed under: Industry Standards, Telemedicine | Tags: affordable care act, american telemedicine association, ATA, atlanta healthcare, atlanta hospital, constitutionality, decision, doctors, financial, future medicine, HIPAA, individual mandate, insurance coverage, investment, logistics, mhealth, modern medicine, patient protection and affordable care act, patients, physician, ppaca, preventative care, preventive care, primary, providers, remote presence, stroke, supreme court, Technology, telehealth, telemedicine, telemedicine model, telemedicine programs, teleneurology
The recent announcement of the Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling in favor of upholding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) has prompted widespread speculation among citizens of the US about the future of healthcare. Notwithstanding the politics associated with the decision, the ruling carries significant impact for citizens in terms of access to preventive care and insurance coverage.
Telemedicine providers are heavily impacted by the ruling as well. The American Telemedicine Association (ATA) believes that it will positively impact the development of telemedicine, mHealth, and other remote technologies, citing 4 main reasons; the announcement reduces hesitation to invest in telemedicine technologies, protects existing investments in telemedicine, bolster’s telemedicine’s role in many healthcare programs, and strengthens telemedicine’s fundamental value proposition.
As healthcare enters its next era, telemedicine offers a model for streamlining care coordination and improving patient outcomes. In the period of time between healthcare reform being codified into law and the Supreme Court ruling to uphold it, there had been a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the healthcare industry implementing major changes in practice, as it would cause complications should the law be overturned, but the affirmation clears up many of the primary legal and cost concerns, opening the door for telemedicine to address logistical and financial pain points for both providers and patients.
Ultimately, telemedicine fits snugly into the PPACA. For ACO’s needing to include services unavailable in their area, a remote presence physician will be drastically most cost-effective than hiring a full time local MD. Telemedicine also helps alleviate costs for underinsured or completely uninsured patients as well as alleviating strain on the healthcare system caused by unnecessary emergency visits through improvements in preventive care. The court’s decision, while sparking some controversy on other fronts, is the latest step forward in the rapid evolution of telemedicine as a powerful solution for a multitude of healthcare issues facing Americans.
AcuteCare Telemedicine Blog 